Be Better Man

BetterHelp.com Shines a Light on Men’s Mental Health

October 25, 2021

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Man up. Take it like a man. Be a man. Men are presented with these idioms of manliness from a young age fueling toxicity and silent suffering that is only recently coming to bear. According to CAMH, among Canadians of all ages, four of every five suicides are male. They dub it “a silent crisis, a sleeper issue.”

A new campaign from the online therapy service BetterHelp.com directed by Rebecca Applebaum, a member of the Untitled Films roster, and written by Julia Lederer, hopes to change that by presenting the simple question “What do you want?”

“Historically, men have been hesitant to reach out and ask for help with their mental health,” says James Imrie, creative director, BetterHelp. “We’re starting to see more and more men open up about their feelings and emotions as the long-held stigmas start to fade. Rebecca and the team at Untitled Films did an amazing job capturing the feeling of existential anxiety that plagues so many of us. We’re excited to play a part in continuing to break down these stigmas, while we continue to provide the therapy resources to enable people to work through these feelings.”

The spot presents a man becoming increasingly more and more vulnerable as he answers that simple question, only to find out that his roommate wanted to know what he wanted to eat. As much as we like to dish with and dump on our friends and family, very few of them are professionals capable of helping us in an appropriate manner.

Online therapy sessions have grown in popularity during the pandemic with 94% users saying they prefer it to in-person therapy. Regardless of how you access therapy, seeking the help of a professional is most certainly better than unloading on your ordering friend.

About BetterHelp:

BetterHelp is the world’s largest therapy service, facilitating over 5,000,000 video sessions, voice calls, chats, and messages every month. We set out on a mission to make sure everyone has easy, affordable, and private access to high-quality therapy. Since 2013, over 30,000 licensed, accredited, and board-certified therapists from BetterHelp’s network have helped more than 2,000,000 people face life’s challenges and improve their mental health.

Credits:

Client: BetterHelp
Title: Want
Creative Director: James Imrie
Content Administrator: Natalie Brown

Production Company: Untitled Films
Director: Rebecca Applebaum
Director of Photography: Josh MacDonald
Executive Producer: Lexy Kavluk
Line Producer: Nick Gervais

Writer (freelance): Julia Lederer

Editorial: Saints Editorial
Editor: Christopher Chang
Executive Producer: Emily McKay

Colour & VFX: Alter Ego
Colourist: Patrick Samaniego
Colour Assistant: James Graham
VFX Artist: Sebastian Boros
VFX Assistant Nupur Desai
Producer: Mariya Guzova 

Sound Design: Grayson Music Group
Sound Design / Audio Director / Senior Audio Engineer: Brian Bernard
Music Supervisor: Rich Hamilton
Producer: Sharon Yokoyama 

Cast: Izaak Smith, Darrel Gamotin

Casting: Rebecca Applebaum
Casting Assistant: Chelsea Preston

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